US7302638B1 - Efficiently displaying and researching information about the interrelationships between documents - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for displaying, on a computer screen, information concerning the interrelationships of documents. A system employing the present invention also allows for the efficient research of documents that cite a document shown on the computer screen. In one embodiment, the present invention involves displaying at least a portion of a first document and simultaneously displaying a representation of one or more citing documents. The citing documents cite some portion of the displayed document. In another embodiment, the invention involves displaying at least a portion of a first document, and displaying a representation of one or more citing documents, wherein the displayed citing documents cite the displayed portion of the first document.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/784,469, filed Feb. 16, 2001 now abandoned (entitled “Method for Efficiently Displaying and Researching Information about the Interrelationships Between Documents”), which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/245,183, filed Feb. 5, 1999 (entitled “Document Research System and Method for Efficiently Displaying and Researching Information about the Interrelationships Between Documents”), now U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,351, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/014,669, filed Jan. 28, 1998 (entitled “Document Research System and Method for Efficiently Displaying and Researching Information about the Interrelationships Between Documents having a Document Title and Document Body”), now U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,770, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/487,925, filed Jun. 7, 1995 (entitled “Document Research System and Method for Efficiently Displaying and Researching Information about the Interrelationships Between Documents having a Document Title and Document Body”), now abandoned. All of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method of displaying information on a computer screen. A system employing the present invention provides an efficient procedure for researching documents and the interrelationships between documents. The present invention is particularly applicable to research involving documents that extensively cite or refer to other documents.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The nature of many academic and professional writings is such that authors rely upon and cite previously published works, studies, or test results to support arguments or opinions. For example, in the common law system in America, lawyers and judges cite and rely upon previously decided cases (i.e., written judicial opinions) to support their arguments and opinions. The American common law system is particularly reliant upon the precedent established by previous case decisions because a judicial court (or judge) will usually consider as very persuasive a previously-decided case in which the same legal issue has been resolved or decided.

However, courts will not always agree with, or be bound by, previously-decided cases. Instead of agreeing with a conclusion reached in a previous case, or “following” it, courts may occasionally, disagree with, criticize, question, reverse, or overrule the previous case. Therefore, beginning with the first time a case is cited in a subsequent case, the earlier case's authoritative value can change. For example, if a persuasive judge is critical of the earlier case, that earlier case will be less authoritative than it was before the judge's critical treatment of the case. On the other hand, if the judge strongly supports the reasoning of the earlier case, the authoritative value of the earlier case will be enhanced. Virtually every time a case is discussed or cited, its authoritativeness or precedential status is affected. The importance or precedential status of a case can continue to evolve over many years as a result of interpretations given to it by judges in subsequent cases.

Therefore, when considering a legal issue decided in a court's written opinion or decision, it is critical to consider what subsequent cases have said about it. Lawyers performing legal research consequently have a need to determine which later cases have discussed (and therefore, cited) any given earlier case. For many years, lawyers have been able to find out which later cases have cited any given case by using a tool known as Shepard's Citations published by McGraw-Hill, Inc. Shepard's Citations is basically an organized index that lists all the cases that have cited a particular case. When a later case cites an earlier case, there is usually some discussion of the earlier, cited case. Shepard's Citations also sometimes gives a brief indication of how the later case treated the earlier case of interest (e.g., the later case may have “followed,” “criticized,” or “questioned” the earlier case).

In recent years, legal research has been increasingly performed by lawyers using computerized legal research systems. The most popular of these may be the on-line legal research systems, such as Westlaw and LEXIS/NEXIS. However, legal research systems employing local CD-ROM or other databases have become quite popular.

FIG. 1ais a representation of a screen taken from the Westlaw legal research system operated by the West Publishing Company. The screen shows a portion of the text of the Wilson Sporting Goods case shown at101 inFIG. 1a. Thetitle bar102 includes thecitations103 for the Wilson case, which are 904F.2d 677, and 14 U.S.P.Q.2d 1942. These two citations mean that the Wilson case can be found starting atpage 677 ofvolume 904 of the F.2d reporter series, or alternatively, starting at page 1942 ofvolume 14 of the U.S.P.Q.2d reporter series.

Also shown in thetitle bar102 is the “rank”104 of the displayed document, which is simply the position or order of the Wilson case with respect to all of the other documents found in the search conducted by the user. In this particular example, the Wilson case is ranked second out of three search documents. Each of the search documents is a document that satisfies a particular query entered by the user, and in the example shown inFIG. 1a, three documents in the database CTA satisfy the user's query.

The current page number and the number of pages in the document are shown inFIG. 1aat105. The number of pages essentially corresponds to the number of screens the Wilson case fills. For example,FIG. 1ashows the first Westlaw page of the Wilson case, andFIG. 1bshows Westlaw page 25.FIG. 1bis the screen that is twenty-fifth of the thirty-nine screens that make up the Wilson case.FIGS. 1aand1bthus simply show different portions of the text of the Wilson case.

As described above, when researching issues that are discussed in the Wilson case, it is very useful to see what subsequently decided cases have said about the analysis in the Wilson case. The Westlaw system provides access to this type of information through a number of services, one of which is the on-line version of Shepard's Citations. In the Westlaw system, the user can access this information by selecting a menu item from a pull-down menu or by selecting (i.e., “clicking on”) an on-screen button. When the user selects the Shepard's Citation service in Westlaw while viewing the Wilson case, a screen similar to that shown inFIG. 1cis displayed.

The top ofFIG. 1cshows at110 a citation to the cited document, 904F.2d 677, which is the citation to the Wilson case. Thus, the Wilson case is considered, in this screen, to be the “cited” document. A parallel citation to the Wilson case is shown at114.FIG. 1calso contains alist112 of citations to a number of cases. The citations in thislist112 are references to cases which cite the Wilson case. These cases listed at112 are called “citing cases” because they are later cases that cite the Wilson case (i.e., the cited case). In other words, the text of each of the cases shown in thelist112 contains a specific reference to the Wilson case.

Thecitation116 at the bottom ofFIG. 1c(“140 F.R.D. 121, 127”), indicates that a case having a citation to the Wilson case can be found starting at page 121 of volume 140 of the F.R.D. (Federal Rules Decisions) reporter series. The specific citation or reference to the Wilson case can be found on page 127 of that volume.FIG. 1calso shows at118 that this citation referencesheadnote 9 of the Wilson case. This means that the case at140 F.R.D. 121 cites the Wilson case for the issue discussed atheadnote 9 of the Wilson case. The headnotes are prepared and categorized by the West Publishing Company.

As suggested at120 ofFIG. 1c, the Shepard's listing for the Wilson case spans eight Westlaw screens.Page 2 of the Shepard's listing is shown inFIG. 1d. This page lists additional citing cases (i.e., cases that cite the Wilson case). As can be seen fromFIGS. 1cand1d, the Shepard's citations are listed in a somewhat organized manner. For example, inFIG. 1d, the cases decided in the First Circuit that cite the Wilson case are listed under the heading “Cir. 1,” and the cases in the Second Circuit that cite the Wilson case are listed under heading “Cir. 2.”FIG. 1dalso shows an instance in which the Shepard's listing analyzes one of the listed citations. At122, the Shepard's listing suggests that the case published at 796 F.Supp. 640 (the “citing case”) “followed” the analysis or reasoning of the Wilson case. This means that the citing case (found at 796 F.Supp. 640) applied the same analysis as the court in the Wilson case. The Shepard's Citations listing also will occasionally provide other analysis of citing cases, and may, for example, point out those cases which “explain,” “criticize,” or “reverse” the Wilson case.

As described above, the Westlaw system allows the researcher to see a list of citing cases, such as that provided by Shepard's Citations. However, the Westlaw system requires the user to move to another screen to see these citations, thereby covering the displayed text of the case of interest. This is distracting to the researcher, because once the text of the case is no longer displayed, the researcher cannot refer back to the displayed text without removing the citations from the screen. In addition, because the citations list in Westlaw can often be many screens in length, the user must perform the tedious task of paging through the entire citations list and uncovering those citations that are relevant to the particular portion of the displayed document that the researcher is studying. The Westlaw system and others in the art are therefore relatively unsophisticated in the manner in which they display lists of citing cases. None of the computer-based research systems in the art provide a listing of which citing cases based on the context of the displayed document. Thus, none provide any indication of which citing cases specifically refer to the text displayed on the screen or selected by the user.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of displaying documents in a research system. In one embodiment, the method involves displaying at least a portion of a first document and simultaneously displaying a representation of one or more citing documents. The citing documents cite some portion of the displayed document.

In another embodiment, the method involves displaying at least a portion of a first document, and displaying a representation of one or more citing documents, wherein the citing documents cite the displayed portion of the first document. The citing documents could alternatively cite a highlighted part of the displayed portion of the first document.

Other embodiments are described in the Detailed Description.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for efficiently researching interrelated documents.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for analyzing the precedential value of a judicial opinion.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for effectively conveying to the researcher information concerning the interrelationships of documents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1ato1dare displays illustrating the operation of the Westlaw research system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3ais a view of a screen on which the text of a document is displayed, and representations of citing documents are also displayed.

FIG. 3bis a view of the screen ofFIG. 3aafter the user has scrolled the text of the document.

FIG. 3cis a view of the screen after selection of one of the representations of the citing documents.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the process steps in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5ais a view of a screen in another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5billustrates the updating of the citing cases box upon scrolling the text of the displayed document.

FIGS. 5cand5dillustrate further updating of the citing cases box.

FIG. 5eillustrates the change to the display after selection of one of the representations.

FIG. 5fillustrates the selection of another representation.

FIG. 5gillustrates the selection of the previous case representation.

FIGS. 5hand5iillustrate the further selection of representations of citing cases.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of process steps similar to that carried out in connection withFIGS. 5ato5i.

FIG. 7ais a view of a screen on which the text of a document is displayed, and representations of citing documents are also displayed.

FIG. 7billustrates the retention of representations of previous citing cases in the citing cases box.

FIG. 7cfurther illustrates the retention of representations of previous citing cases in the citing cases box.

FIG. 7dillustrates and points out markers or highlighting that is used to indicate which representations have already been displayed.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of process steps similar to that carried out in connection withFIGS. 7ato7d.

FIG. 9ais a view of a screen on which the text of a document is displayed, as well as a citing cases box and a citing cases bin.

FIG. 9bis a view of the screen ofFIG. 9aafter the user has scrolled the text of the document.

FIG. 9cillustrates the updating of the citing cases box and the citing cases bin when the text of the displayed document is scrolled.

FIG. 9dillustrates the updating of the display upon selection by the user of a representation of a citing case.

FIG. 10ais a view of a screen in another embodiment of the present invention, in which the text of a document is displayed.

FIG. 10bis a window displayed upon selection ofbutton1008 inFIG. 10a.

FIG. 10cillustrates the scrolling of the text of the document displayed inFIG. 10a.

FIG. 10dillustrates how the window ofFIG. 10bwould be updated upon the scrolling of the text as shown inFIG. 10c.

FIG. 10eillustrates the selection of one of the representations of citing cases inFIG. 10d.

FIG. 10fillustrates a window that could be employed in alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of process steps similar to that carried out in connection withFIGS. 10ato10e.

FIG. 12ais a view of a web page in an internet-based implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 12billustrates a different portion of the web page ofFIG. 12a.

FIG. 12cillustrates the bottom of the web page ofFIG. 12a, where a representation of a citing case is displayed at the bottom of the web page.

FIG. 12dis a view of the web page retrieved upon selection of the representation inFIG. 12c.

FIG. 12eis a view of a different portion of the web page ofFIG. 12d.

FIG. 12fillustrates the bottom of the web page ofFIG. 12d, where representations of citing cases are displayed at the bottom of the web page.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a method of displaying interrelationships of documents on a computer screen. Specifically, the present invention relates to a computerized research system that provides the researcher with information about documents that cite a document that the user is studying.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system in one embodiment of the present invention. Thesystem200 has a central processing unit (CPU)201, amemory unit202, and i/o circuitry203. Thecpu201 is connected to i/o circuitry203 to permit data transfers withinput devices205 anddisplay204. Theinput device205 can be a keyboard, pen, mouse, voice-recognition circuitry, or any other input device known to those in the art. Some type of secondary ormass storage206 is generally considered desirable. In a typical implementation, the secondary storage is a hard or floppy disk. Generally, any data storage medium as is known in the art can be used as thesecondary storage206. Thesecondary storage206 can also be eliminated by providing a sufficient amount of memory in thememory unit202. Thememory202 or, alternatively, thesecondary storage206 are considered data storage mediums. It is also possible to have an input device act as a data storage medium.

The physical structure of thedatabase207 may involve one or more hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other mass storage devices and may or may not be distributed. Thedatabase207 may also be integrated into thesecondary storage device206. As is well known in the art, thedatabase207 can be near or local to theCPU201, or it can be remotely located relative to theCPU201. Any type ofdatabase207 that is capable of operating according to the present invention is appropriate.

FIG. 3ais a display illustrating one embodiment of the present invention in which thetext window302 shows the text of the first portion of the Graver Tank case that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950. Thetitle window304 contains the brief title of the Graver Tank case, and thebox310 shows a citation to the Graver Tank case. Thescroll bar306 allows the user to scroll through the text of the Graver Tank case by selecting thedown arrow button308 or by moving thescroll button316 in a manner well known in the art.FIG. 3bshows thetext window302 after the user has moved thescroll button316 down slightly.

FIGS. 3aand3balso show a citing cases box311 in whichrepresentations312 of a number of cases that cite the Graver Tank case are listed. The citing cases box311 is simply an area on the screen in which the representations of citing cases can be placed.Scroll bar314 allows the user to scroll through additional representations of citing cases when there are more representations of citing cases in thebox311 than there is room for on the screen. Preferably, the citing cases box would include a representation of all existing cases that cite the Graver Tank case. However, normally only those cases in thedatabase207 that cite the Graver Tank case are shown. Thedatabase207 may or may not be up-to-date.

The representations of the cases in thebox311 can be listed in a particular order, such as by date decided, or by jurisdiction, or by some other characteristic. It is also possible to include only a subset of the cases in the database. For example, the user may only be interested in seeing representations of cases that come from a particular court or group of courts, or from a particular period of time.

A representation is herein defined to be any indication, marker, button, menu item, link, or reference associated with another a document. A representation could also be labelled with the title, citation, or some other portion of the document. However, the representation need not be labelled as shown in the Figures. Representations may have any other labelling or alternatively, no labelling at all. A representation may correspond to a single document, or it may correspond to more than one document, or a group of documents. For example, instead of having a representation for each document, a representation may be simply a button that corresponds to a plurality of documents, where the representation is labelled to indicate the number of citations the representation corresponds to.

InFIGS. 3aand3b, the citing cases box311 has arepresentation312 for each of the cases that cite the Graver Tank case. In the embodiment shown, the citing cases box311 contains eight representations of cases that cite the Graver Tank case. Therepresentations312 shown in this embodiment are labelled so as to indicate thename315 of the citing case, thecitation316 to the citing case, theparagraph317 in the citing case that cites the Graver Tank case, and also theGraver Tank paragraph318 that is cited by the citing case. Thus, from this first representation, it can be seen that paragraph 43 of the Pennwalt case cites the sixth paragraph of the Graver Tank case. Similarly, the representation at the top of the box indicates that paragraph 13 of the Pennwalt case, which is reported at 833F.2d 931, cites paragraph four of the Graver Tank case. There is more than one representation for the Pennwalt case because the Pennwalt case cites the Graver Tank case more than once. Similarly, the citing cases box311 shows the Perkin-Elmer case cites the sixth paragraph of the Graver Tank case three times.

The user can display one of these citing cases by selecting a representation shown in the citingcases box311.FIG. 3cshows how the display is updated when the user selects the first representation shown in the citingcases box311. Selection can be done by any means known in the art, such as by keyboard, mouse, pen, touch-screen, voice command, or otherwise. Thetext box302 ofFIG. 3chas been updated to show the beginning of the Pennwalt case, which corresponds to the representation at the top of the citing cases box311 inFIG. 3b. The user can scroll through the text of the Pennwalt case inFIG. 3cby manipulating thescroll bar306.

Also as shown inFIG. 3c, the citing cases box311 is updated to contain representations of the cases that cite the Pennwalt decision. The representations of the cases citing the Graver Tank case are removed from the citingcases box311. Thus, when the text box contains a new case, the citing cases box311 is updated to reflect the cases that cite the new decision.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment similar to that described in connection withFIGS. 3a,3b, and3c. As shown, thefirst step401 in the flow chart involves simultaneously displaying a portion of a document (such as the portion displayed in thetext box302 inFIGS. 3ato3c), and also simultaneously displaying representations of documents that cite the displayed document. This simultaneous display allows the user to see, at the same time, both the text of the document, and also the representations of the citing cases.

In thenext step402, the system checks to see if the user has selected one of the representations. Once the user does select one of the representations, step403 updates the display to show the citing case corresponding to the selected representation and also to show representations of cases that cite the new displayed case.

FIGS. 5ato5iillustrate an alternate embodiment of the present invention in which the citing cases box only lists representations of cases that cite the displayed text. For example, in thetext box302 ofFIG. 5a, the first few lines of the Graver Tank case are shown. As illustrated inFIG. 3a, there are a number of cases that cite some portion of the Graver Tank case. However, inFIG. 5a, none of those cases specifically cite the any of the text shown in thetext box302. Instead, the citing cases listed in the citing cases box311 ofFIG. 3aall cite some other portion of the Graver Tank case.

FIG. 5bshows the display after the user has scrolled down by using thescroll bar306 so that thefirst line501 of the 4th paragraph of the Graver Tank case is displayed in thetext box302. (For convenience, the beginning of each paragraph in the text of cases is marked with the characters “[Pn],” where n is the paragraph number.) InFIG. 5b, the citing cases box311 is no longer empty. Thebox311 contains a representation of the Pennwalt case, which citesparagraph 4 of the Graver Tank case. Thus, the citing cases box inFIG. 5bis periodically (or continually) updated so that it contains only representations of those citing cases that cite the text displayed in thetext box302. In the example shown inFIGS. 5ato5i, the citing cases box311 contains representations of cases that cite any paragraph that has at least one line displayed in thetext box302.

As the user further scrolls through the text of the Graver case, the citing cases box311 is updated as paragraphs are displayed in thetext box302 and removed from thetext box302. For example, inFIG. 5c, paragraphs four and five of the Graver Tank case are displayed in their entirety, and a portion of paragraph six is displayed in thetext box302. The citing cases box311 inFIG. 5ctherefore contains representations of those citing cases that cite paragraphs four, five, and six of the Graver Tank case. When the user continues to scroll through the text of the Graver Tank case so that, as shown inFIG. 5d, only paragraph six of the Graver Tank case is displayed, and the citing cases box311 is updated so that only the cases that cite paragraph six of the Graver Tank case are represented in thebox311. Thus, representation509 (which corresponds to a case citing paragraph four of the Graver Tank case) is in the citing cases box311 inFIG. 5c, but is removed from thebox311 when paragraph four is no longer in thetext box302 as shown inFIG. 5d.

Representation504 in the citing cases box311 corresponds to the Pennwalt case, which cites the sixth paragraph of the Graver Tank paragraph. This citation to Graver Tank occurs at the nineteenth paragraph of the Pennwalt case, which is reported beginning atpage 931 ofvolume 833 of the F.2d Reporter series. If the user were to selectrepresentation504 in the citingcases box311, the display would be updated in the embodiment ofFIGS. 5ato5iso that the citing paragraph in the Pennwalt case (paragraph 19) is displayed in thetext box302 as shown inFIG. 5e. The nineteenth paragraph has been displayed because that is the paragraph that cites the previously displayed 6th paragraph of the Graver Tank case (seeFIG. 5d). The citing cases box311 is updated to contain representations of only those cases that cite the nineteenth paragraph of the Pennwalt case.

At508 inFIG. 5d, the “function-way-result” doctrine is set forth in paragraph six of the Graver Tank case. The “function-way-result” doctrine is a legal doctrine relating to whether devices perform “substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain the same result.” See508 inFIG. 5d. InFIG. 5e, the Graver Tank case has been cited at506 by the Pennwalt case to support the “function-way-result” doctrine set forth at510 inparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt case. Thus,paragraph 19 includes a citation toparagraph 6 of the Graver Tank case.

As has been described in connection withFIGS. 5ato5e, it is possible in the present invention to move directly from the cited case to the position in the citing case where the discussion of the cited case occurs. This ability to move directly from the cited document (Graver Tank) in the example shown to the citing document (Pennwalt) allows the researcher to easily, quickly, and efficiently evaluate the effect of the Pennwalt decision on the legal doctrine set forth in the Graver Tank. This is significant and quite useful because the validity of the law set forth in any case or legal writing can be greatly affected by cases that later evaluate the earlier case. Thus, legal researchers have a need for convenient and efficient access to those cases that discuss specific legal issues decided in any given case. The foregoing procedure satisfies this need, and greatly simplifies legal research.

FIG. 5eshows an updated citing cases box, this one showing only two representations of citing cases. These cases are the London case and the Wilson case, both of which citeparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt case. Whenrepresentation515 is selected, the display is updated to that shown inFIG. 5fwhich shows paragraph 12 of the London case beginning at the top of thetext box302. Paragraph 12 contains a citation to the previous case, Pennwalt. InFIG. 5f, the citation to the Pennwalt case is shown at514, and the recitation of the “function-way-result” doctrine is set forth at516. Thus, the London case citesparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt decision as authority for the “function-way-result” doctrine. No cases within the database citeparagraphs 12, 13, or 14 of the London case, so the citing cases box311 is empty.

The user can backtrack back to the Pennwalt decision by selecting the representation orbutton518 shown inFIG. 5f, which updates thetext box302 and the citing cases box311 to appear just as that shown inFIG. 5e. Theprevious case representation518 is updated to correspond to the London case. Thus, the display is as shown inFIG. 5g, which is differs from that inFIG. 5eonly with respect torepresentation518.

FromFIG. 5g, the user again has the opportunity to select the representation for the Wilson case which also cites theparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt decision. By selecting therepresentation520 inFIG. 5g, the display is updated as shown inFIG. 5h.Paragraph 36 of the Wilson decision is shown starting at the top of thetext box302 inFIG. 5h. The citation to the Pennwalt decision inparagraph 36 of the Wilson case is indicated at522. The “function-way-result” doctrine, for which the Pennwalt case is cited, is set forth at524 ofFIG. 5h.

Unlike the London case, there are cases that cite the paragraph of the Wilson case which cites the Pennwalt case. Therefore, the citing cases box311 inFIG. 5his not empty. Whenrepresentation526 in the citing cases box311 is selected, the display is updated to that shown inFIG. 5i.

FIG. 5ishows the updated display with the text box showing paragraph 13 of the Conroy decision, and the citation to the Wilson case at528. However, the doctrine for which the Wilson case is being relied upon is different than the “function-way-result” doctrine that has been traced from the Graver Tank decision. At532 ofFIG. 5h, the Wilson case sets forth the proposition that “there can be no infringement if the asserted scope of equivalency of what is literally claimed would encompass the prior art.” This is the proposition for which the Conroy case is citingparagraph 36 of Wilson decision. The law cited inparagraph 36 of Wilson case is applied atparagraph530 ofFIG. 5i.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of steps carried out by an embodiment of the present invention that is similar to that described in connection withFIGS. 5ato5i, wherestep601 displays a portion of a document, and step602 displays in the citing cases box only those representations of citing documents that cite the displayed portion fromstep601. The user is continually monitored to determine at603 whether the displayed text has changed (e.g., by virtue of the user scrolling the display text). If the text has changed, the representations of the citing cases are updated at604. The user is also monitored at605 to determine whether a citing document has been selected. When a citing document is selected, the display is updated to show a portion of the selected document. At step602, restarting the procedure, the citing cases box is also updated to contain representations of citing cases that cite the newly displayed text.

FIGS. 7ato7dshow an alternate embodiment of the present invention that is similar to the embodiments shown in connection withFIGS. 5ato5iand the flow chart ofFIG. 6. The embodiment ofFIGS. 7ato7ddiffers from other embodiments in that representations of citing cases remain in the citing cases box after the display has been updated. In the previously-described embodiments, the citing cases that no longer correspond to the text shown on the display are removed from the citing cases box.

InFIG. 7a, the Pennwalt decision is shown withparagraph 19 of that decision shown in thetext box302. Representations of two citing cases (London and Wilson), are shown in the citingcases box311. Both London and Wilson citeparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt decision. When the user selectsrepresentation702 in the citing cases box, the display is updated as shown inFIG. 7b. Thetext box302 inFIG. 7bshows paragraph 12 (and 13 and 14) of the London decision. Unlike previous embodiments, however, the representations of the London and the Wilson cases remain in the citingcases box311.

Retaining representations of citing cases in the citing cases box311 allows the user to collect an list of relevant cases by traversing a number of linked cases. This is important because the user may otherwise have to remember or come back to the cases that he or she initially decides not to examine. This situation is illustrated inFIGS. 5eto5h, where it was necessary to backtrack from the London case (FIG. 5f) back to the Pennwalt case (FIG. 5g), and then to the Wilson case (FIG. 5h) to display all of the cases that citeparagraph 19 of the Pennwalt case (seeFIG. 5e, and previous discussion). By retaining representations of citing cases, such a procedure is unnecessary. InFIG. 7b, the Wilson case can be displayed at any time upon selection by the user ofrepresentation703, even when Wilson does not cite the displayed document.

FIG. 7cshows the updated display afterrepresentation703 is selected inFIG. 7b. The citing cases box311 ofFIG. 7cshows an additional representation in the citing cases box311 corresponding to the Conroy case, which cites the displayedparagraph 36 of the Wilson decision. When therepresentation704 is selected, the display is updated as shown inFIG. 7d. As shown inFIG. 7d, representations of the Conroy, Wilson and London cases are still shown in the cited cases box.

The displays ofFIGS. 7athrough7dhave aclear button715 that is used to clear the citing cases box311 of all representations of citing cases. This permits the user to start collecting citing cases from scratch at any given point during research.FIGS. 7bto7dalso show a highlight ormarker711 that indicates which representations have already been displayed. Highlighting in this manner allows the user to determine, by looking at each representation, those which he or she has already studied or already displayed. Such highlighting therefore provides a means by which the user will know when he or she has looked at all of the citing cases. Highlighting can be done as shown inFIG. 7dby placing a marker on or next to each representation, or highlighting can also be done by changing the color of the representation, by changing the font, or by any other manner that makes it clear which cases have been viewed and which cases have not. Similarly, in another embodiment, it may be desirable to remove from the citing cases bin the cases that have already been viewed by the user.

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart that is very similar to that of the flow chart inFIG. 6 and also is similar to the embodiment shown in connection withFIGS. 7ato7d. The flow chart inFIG. 8 differs from that ofFIG. 6 only in thatstep802 involves retaining the representations of the previous citing documents, whereas the corresponding step602 inFIG. 6 does not retain the previous representations.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in connection withFIGS. 9ato9d. This embodiment demonstrates that it is possible to keep a separate bin of citing cases in which to retain all of the cases that have previously been cited. For example, inFIG. 9a, the first portion of the text of the Graver Tank case is shown. InFIG. 9b, the user has scrolled through the text of the Graver Tank case for a few lines. There do not happen to be any cases that cite the displayed text of theFIG. 9aor9b, so the citing cases box311 is empty for in both situations.

InFIG. 9cthe user has scrolled down somewhat so that portions of paragraphs two through five of the Graver Tank case are displayed. The Pennwalt decision citesparagraph 4 of the Graver Tank case, so a representation of the Pennwalt case is displayed in the citingcases box311, and also in the citingcases bin911. When the user selects the representation902 (or alternatively,904), the Pennwalt decision is displayed as shown inFIG. 9dand the citing cases box311 is emptied because no cases (in the database) cite paragraph 13 of the Pennwalt decision. The citingcases bin911, however, retains the representation of the previously cited case.

The embodiment ofFIGS. 9ato9coperates very similar to that ofFIGS. 7ato7d, the difference being that all cases are retained in the citingcases bin911, and the citing cases box311 only contains those cases that cite the currently displayed text.

In another embodiment, a citing cases bin similar to that described in connection withFIGS. 9ato9ccould contain all of the representations of cases that cite the displayed case, rather than previous representations. In other words, representations for all of the cases that cite the displayed case could be listed in the citingcases bin911, but the citing cases box311 could be used for only those representations of cases that cite the text displayed in thetext box302. This division or arrangement could effectively convey to the user which citing cases cite the displayed text, and which citing cases cite some other portion of the displayed case.

FIGS. 10ato10fillustrate yet another embodiment of the present invention in which the citing cases box311 is not displayed on the same screen or simultaneously with thetext box302 that contains the text of the displayed case. InFIG. 10a, for example, thetext box302 shows the Graver Tank opinion, and thetitle box304 shows the title of the Graver Tank opinion. Thescroll bar306 allows the user to scroll through the Graver Tank opinion in the manner known in the art.

Thecitation button1008 allows the user to bring up awindow1001 such as that shown inFIG. 10b. This window contains a citingcases box311, which lists the representations of the cases citing the text displayed in the text box ofFIG. 10a. There are no cases that cite the text displayed inFIG. 10a, so citing cases box311 inFIG. 10bis empty. However, this changes as the user scrolls down through the text in the manner shown inFIG. 10c. Thewindow1001 that is brought up upon selection of thebutton1008 inFIG. 10cis shown inFIG. 10d. The citing cases box311 inFIG. 10dshows includes a representation of the Pennwalt case. As in the embodiments described above, the user can select a representation in the citingcases box311. When therepresentation1010 is selected inFIG. 10d, the Pennwalt decision is displayed as shown inFIG. 10e.

FIG. 10fshows awindow1002 which can be used as an alternative to that shown inFIG. 10b. Thewindow1002 has a citing cases box311 and a citingcases bin911, which operate in a manner similar to that described in connection withFIGS. 9ato9d.

FIGS. 10ato10fdescribe embodiments in which the text of a case and the representations of citing documents are not displayed simultaneously. Rather, whenbutton1008 is selected, window1001 (or in an alternative embodiment, window1002) is shown on the display. Thewindow1001 may completely displace showing the text of the cited case, or it may only partially obstruct the displayed text of the cited case.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart that is similar to the embodiment described in connection withFIGS. 10ato10f.Step1101 simply involves displaying a portion of a document. Instep1102, the user is monitored to determine whether he or she has requested a list of cites (e.g., by selecting thebutton1008 inFIG. 10a). If so, representations of cases citing the displayed text are displayed instep1103. The user then may select one of the representations instep1104, and if this is done, a portion of the document corresponding to the selected document is displayed atstep1105. Alternatively, the user may choose to go back to the cited case, or in other words, display the text of the cited case that was displayed atstep1101. Seestep1106.

FIGS. 12ato12fillustrate an embodiment of the present invention that has been implemented on the internet's World Wide Web.FIG. 12ashows a web page displayed in the Netscape browser available from Netscape Communications Corp. Theweb page1201 shown inFIG. 12acorresponds topage 42 of volume 280 of the U.S. Reports series. This page is part of the 1929 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Sanitary Refrigerator Co. v. Winters. The Sanitary Refrigerator case starts on page 30 of volume 280 of the U.S. Reports. In the World Wide Web implementation ofFIGS. 12ato12f, one or more web servers of the type known well in the art are connected to the internet. For simplicity, each web page corresponds to the paper pages in the actual bound U.S. Reports. Thus, the web server has a web page for each page within each volume of the U.S. Reports.

Depending on the user's web browser and hardware, some or all of theweb page1201 will be displayed in thebrowser display1202. Thescroll bar1203 allows the user to scroll through the web page.FIG. 12bshows the middle portion of the web page, which is displayed when thescroll box1207 is moved as shown.

When thescroll box1207 is moved to the bottom of the scroll bar, as shown inFIG. 12c, the bottom of the web page is shown. The last line ofpage 42 of U.S. Reports volume 280 is shown at1210 inFIG. 12c. Below this last line is a representation1212 of the Graver Tank case. This representation1212 indicates that the Graver Tank case cites the displayed page (i.e.,page 42 of U.S. Reports volume 280). The representation1212 also indicates that the citation topage 42 of the Sanitary Refrigerator case is located atpage 608 of U.S. Reports volume 339.

The representation1212 inFIG. 12cis a link to another web page on the web server database. On the world wide web, these links are implemented with a hypertext protocol, such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language). As is well known in the art, selecting the representation1212 will retrieve another web page from the appropriate web server. Thisnew web page1213 is shown inFIG. 12d, and as can be seen, theweb page1213 corresponds topage 608 of the Graver Tank case from volume 339 of the U.S. Reports.

FIG. 12eis the web page ofFIG. 12dafter the user has scrolled down the page a few lines. The citation to the Sanitary Refrigerator case is shown at1215 inFIG. 12e. And as can be seen at1216 ofFIG. 12e(see also1216 atFIG. 12d), the proposition for which the Sanitary Refrigerator case is cited is the function-way-result doctrine. This doctrine is set forth in the Sanitary Refrigerator case at1218 inFIG. 12b, which ispage 42 of U.S. Reports volume 280.

FIG. 12fshows the bottom of the Graver Tank web page, which has at1221 representations of citing cases. The Graver Tank text displayed in the web page ofFIGS. 12d,12e, and12fcorresponds to the first part of paragraph six inFIG. 5d. Thus, the citing cases shown represented inFIG. 5dare the same as the eight citing cases represented at1221 of the web page inFIG. 12f. Selection of one of the eightrepresentations1221 will retrieve the corresponding web page.

In another embodiment, additional representations may be present at the bottom of the web page ofFIG. 12f. Such additional representations may correspond to cases that cite the displayed case generally or at other pages, and not specifically the displayed page. In other words, it is not necessary to limit the representations in the embodiment ofFIGS. 12ato12fto only those cases that cite the displayed page of the document.

The world wide web implementation illustrated in connection withFIGS. 12ato12fis particularly attractive because setting up the database of documents and configuring the cross-references to citing cases can be relatively straight-forward. Determining which of the cases cite a particular page is done, for the most part, by simply searching the text of the cases for a specific citation to each U.S. Reports page. A representation for each case that cites a given page in the U.S. Reports is generated and incorporated in to the corresponding U.S. Reports web page. Thus, the citation system used by the court itself is used to determine the specific cross-references to and from the various cases, so no translation into other pages or paragraphs or line numbers or other units is necessary.

In other embodiments, where a citation system is used that is different from the system employed by the court, the court's citations must be translated into the citations used by the computerized research system. In other words, if a court cites cases by referencing a page number in a particular volume, and the research system uses a paragraph-based citation system (e.g., as inFIGS. 5ato5i), the court's page number citations will be translated into corresponding paragraph number citations.

Although more tedious translation may be required, it is preferred that smaller units be used for the citation system. For example, a citation to a given page does not unequivocally identify which of the statements of law is being cited on that page. Therefore, not all of the citing cases for a particular page will be helpful to the researcher when he or she is interested in only one of the many statements of law occurring on the page. This problem is illustrated inFIGS. 5hand5i, where the Conroy decision cited the Wilson case for a proposition that was different than the function-way-result issue that was being reviewed inFIGS. 5ato5g. This occurred becauseparagraph 36 of the Wilson case contained more than one citable statement of law. A paragraph-based citation system is often better than a page-based citation system because paragraphs are usually smaller than pages and therefore contain fewer statements of law than do pages. But as shown inFIGS. 5hand5i, a paragraph-based citation system is not immune to the problem.

A citation system employing an even smaller unit, such as a sentence-based citation system, would virtually eliminate the foregoing problem. However, such a citation system requires a significant amount of tedious translation if citations are not already in a sentence-based form.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the representations in the citing cases box would not necessarily correspond to the displayed text, but would rather correspond to displayed text that is specifically selected (i.e., highlighted) by the user. Such an embodiment would be particularly appropriate for a sentence-based citation system, because the selection of one or more sentences would indicate which citing cases are of interest to the user. In other words, when the user has selected a specific section of the displayed portion of a document, this can be an indication that the user wishes to see only those citing cases that correspond to the selected portion. Thus, in an embodiment of the present invention, the citing cases box could contain representations of only those citing cases that cite the selected portion of the displayed text.

It is contemplated that the present invention will be implemented, in at least some embodiments, on a computer that employs software to carry out the functions described above. The software is stored on a data storage medium that is accessible by the computer in a manner known in the art. The effective implementation of the present invention is obviously not necessarily dependent on the type of storage medium employed, and the data storage medium could therefore be of any type (including, without limitation, optical, magnetic, or hardware-based storage media).

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications that are obvious to a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, even if not shown or specifically described herein, are deemed to lie within the spirit and scope of the invention and the following claims. The present invention is not to be limited to any specific database implementation or to any specific network implementation. What is contemplated is any system appropriate for practicing the invention as set forth in the claims. The cases and corresponding citing documents described herein are merely for illustration purposes, and no invention-related significance is to be given to them other than that specifically mentioned herein. In the claims, any means-plus-function clauses are intended to encompass not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.

Claims (29)

1. A system for providing information, where the system is configured to be capable of carrying out the operations of:

making a first document available on a network so that the first document can be viewed over the network using a document viewing program executing on a client computer operated by a user, and so that the first document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and where included within the first document are a plurality of content portions, including a first content portion and a second content portion, each created by a first author;

detecting that a second document includes a reference to the first content portion created by the first author, where the second document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and is an independent document that is not part of the first document, and where content included within the second document is created by a second author after the first content portion created by the first author is created by the first author;

detecting that a third document includes a reference to the second content portion created by the first author, where the third document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and is an independent document that is not part of the first document, and where content included within the third document is created by a third author after the second content portion is created by the first author, and

after detecting that the second document includes a reference to the first content portion, and after detecting that the third document includes a reference to the second content portion, receiving a request for the first document from the client computer operated by the user;

responding to the request for the first document by transferring the first document over the network to the client computer operated by the user, and including within the first document the first content portion and the second content portion; and

displaying the first document in the document viewing program executing at the client computer, where displayed within the document viewing program are (a) the first content portion, (b) a representation of the second document, (c) the second content portion, and (d) a representation of the third document,

where the representation of the second document is automatically displayed within the document viewing program, meaning that the representation of the second document is displayed without requiring the user operating the client computer to be previously aware of the second document, and without requiring the first author to search for the second document,

where the representation of the third document is automatically displayed within the document viewing program, meaning that the representation of the third document is displayed without requiring the user operating the client computer to be previously aware of the third document, and without requiring the first author to search for the third document,

where the first document is displayed so that the representation of the second document can be selected by the user with an input device associated with the client computer while the first content portion is within the document viewing program, and so that the representation of the third document can be selected by the user with the input device while the second content portion is within the document viewing program.

2. The system ofclaim 1, where the second document is displayed when the user selects the representation of the second document.

3. The system ofclaim 2, where after the second document is displayed, the representation of the second document continues to be displayed.

4. The system ofclaim 2, where after the second document is displayed, the representation of the third document continues to be displayed.

5. The system ofclaim 1, where the system is further configured to be capable of carrying out the operations of:

detecting that a fourth document includes a reference to the first content portion; and

after detecting that a fourth document includes a reference to the first content portion, responding to requests for the first document by transferring the first document over the network, and including within the first document (a) the first content portion, (b) at least one representation corresponding to the second document and the fourth document, (c) the second content portion, and (d) a representation of the third document.

6. The system ofclaim 5, where the at least one representation corresponding to the second document and the fourth document includes a link to the second document and a link to the fourth document.

7. The system ofclaim 5, where the at least one representation indicates how many documents it corresponds to.

8. The system ofclaim 5, where a representation of the second document and a representation of the fourth document are displayed when the user selects the at least one representation.

9. The system ofclaim 1, where the first content portion is displayed within a first area within the document viewing program, and the representation of the second document is displayed within a second area within the document viewing program, and where the first area and the second area are separated within the document viewing program.

10. The system ofclaim 1, where the first document includes a judicial opinion.

11. A method of providing information, the method comprising the acts of:

making a first document available on a network so that the first document can be viewed over the network using a document viewing program executing on a client computer operated by a user, and so that the first document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and where included within the first document are a plurality of content portions, including a first content portion and a second content portion, each created by a first author;

enabling a second document to include a reference to the first content portion created by the first author, where the second document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, where the second document is not part of the first document and is available on the network independently of the first document, and where content included within the second document is created by a second author after the first content portion created by the first author is created by the first author;

enabling a third document to include a reference to the second content portion created by the first author, where the third document is widely available to client computers having access to the network, where the third document is not part of the first document and is available on the network independently of the first document, and where content included within the third document is created by a third author after the second content portion is created by the first author;

after enabling the second document to include a reference to the first content portion, and after enabling the third document to include a reference to the second content portion, receiving a request for the first document from the client computer operated by the user;

responding to the request for the first document by transferring the first document over the network to the client computer operated by the user, and including within the first document (a) the first content portion, (b) a representation of the second document, (c) the second content portion, and (d) a representation of the third document,

where the representation of the second document is automatically included within the first document, meaning that the representation of the second document is included without requiring the user operating the client computer to be previously aware of the second document, and without requiring the first author to search for the second document, and

where the representation of the third document is automatically included within the first document, meaning that the representation of the third document is included without requiring the user operating the client computer to be previously aware of the third document, and without requiring the first author to search for the third document; and

enabling the display of the first document in the document viewing program executing at the client computer, where the first document is displayed so that the representation of the second document can be selected by the user while the first document is within the document viewing program, and so that the representation of the third document can be selected by the user while the first document is within the document viewing program.

12. The method ofclaim 11, where the second document is displayed when the user selects the representation of the second document.

13. The method ofclaim 11, where a fourth document includes a reference to the first content portion, and where the act of responding to the request for the first document includes the act of including within the first document a representation of the fourth document.

14. The method ofclaim 11, where a fourth document includes a reference to the first content portion, and where the representation of the second document also serves as a representation of the fourth document.

15. The method ofclaim 11, where the reference to the first content portion is used to support an argument made by the second author in the content included within the second document.

16. A system for providing information on a network, where the system is configured to be capable of carrying out the operations of:

making first author content available on the network to client computers having access to the network, where the first author content is created by a first author, and includes a plurality of content portions, including a first content portion and a second content portion, and where the first content portion is made available on the network in a first web page, and the second content portion is made available on the network in a second web page;

enabling a third web page to include a reference to the first web page, where the third web page is available on the network independently of the first web page, where the third web page includes second author content created by a second author, where the reference to the first web page is included within the second author content as part of commentary written by the second author, and where the second author content is created after the first content portion is created so that the first author is not aware of the second author content when the first content portion is created by the first author;

enabling a fourth web page to include a reference to the second web page, where the fourth web page is available on the network independently of the second web page, where the fourth web page includes third author content created by a third author, where the reference to the second web page is included within the third author content as part of commentary written by the third author, and where the third author content is created after the second content portion is created so that the first author is not aware of the third author content when the second content portion is created by the first author;

after enabling the third web page to include a reference to the first web page, receiving a request for the first web page from a client computer operated by a user;

responding to the request for the first web page by transferring the first web page over the network to the client computer operated by the user, and including within the first web page the first content portion created by the first author and a representation of the third web page,

where the representation of the third web page is automatically included within the first web page, so that the representation of the third web page is included without requiring the user to be aware of the third web page when requesting the first web page, and without requiring the first author to search for the third web page after creating the first content portion; and

enabling the display of the first web page in a web browser window associated with a web browser application executing at the client computer, where displayed within the web browser window are the first content portion and the representation of the third web page, thereby enabling the user to select the representation of the third web page while the first content portion is within in the web browser window.

17. The system ofclaim 16, further configured to be capable of carrying out the operations of:

after enabling the fourth web page to include a reference to the second web page, receiving a request for the second web page; and

responding to the request for the second web page by transferring the second web page over the network, and including within the second web page the second content portion created by the first author and a representation of the fourth web page,

where the representation of the fourth web page is automatically included within the second web page, meaning that the representation of the fourth web page is included without requiring knowledge of the fourth web page when requesting the second web page, and without requiring the first author to search for the fourth web page after creating the second content portion.

18. The system ofclaim 16, where the third web page is displayed when the user selects the representation of the third web page.

19. The system ofclaim 16, where a fifth web page includes a reference to the first web page, and where the operation of responding to the request for the first web page includes the operation of:

including within the first web page at least one representation corresponding to the third web page and the fifth web page.

20. The system ofclaim 16, where the representation of the third web page is displayed within the first web page below the first content portion.

21. A method of providing information on a network, the method comprising the acts of:

making first author content available on the network to client computers having access to the network, where the first author content is created by a first author, and includes a plurality of content portions, including a first content portion and a second content portion, and where the first content portion is made available on the network in a first web page, and the second content portion is made available on the network in a second web page;

enabling a third web page to include a reference to the first web page, where the third web page is accessible on the network independently of the first web page, where the third web page includes second author content created by a second author, where the reference to the first web page is included within the second author content, and is used to support commentary in the second author content, and where the second author content is created after the first content portion is created so that the first author is not aware of the second author content when the first content portion is created by the first author;

enabling a fourth web page to include a reference to the second web page, where the fourth web page is accessible on the network independently of the second web page, where the fourth web page includes third author content created by a third author, where the reference to the second web page is included within the third author content, and where the third author content is created after the second content portion is created so that the first author is not aware of the third author content when the second content portion is created by the first author;

after enabling the third web page to include a reference to the first web page, receiving a request for the first web page from a client computer requesting the first web page;

responding to the request for the first web page by transferring the first web page over the network to the client computer requesting the first web page, and including within the first web page the first content portion created by the first author and a representation of the third web page,

where the representation of the third web page is automatically included within the first web page, meaning that the representation of the third web page is included without receiving a specific request for the third web page from the client computer requesting the first web page, and without requiring the first author to search for the third web page after creating the first author content;

enabling the display of the first web page in a web browser window associated with a web browser application, where displayed within the first web page are the first content portion and the representation of the third web page, thereby enabling selection of the representation of the third web page from within the first web page in the web browser window;

after enabling the fourth web page to include a reference to the second web page, receiving a request for the second web page from a client computer requesting the second web page;

responding to the request for the second web page by transferring the second web page over the network to the client computer requesting the second web page, and including within the second web page the second content portion created by the first author and a representation of the fourth web page,

where the representation of the fourth web page is automatically included within the second web page, meaning that the representation of the fourth web page is included without receiving a specific request for the fourth web page from the client computer requesting the second web page, and without requiring the first author to search for the fourth web page after creating the first author content; and

enabling the display of the second web page in a web browser window associated with a web browser application, where displayed within the second web page are the second content portion and the representation of the fourth web page, thereby enabling selection of the representation of the fourth web page from within the second web page.

22. The method ofclaim 21, where the third web page is displayed when the representation of the third web page is selected.

23. The method ofclaim 21, where a fifth web page includes a reference to the first web page, and where the representation of the third web page also serves as a representation of the fifth web page, and where a hyperlink to the third web page and a hyperlink to the fifth web page are displayed when representation of the third web page is selected.

24. A system for providing information on a network, where the system is configured to be capable of carrying out the operations of:

making first author content available on the network to client computers having access to the network, where the first author content is created by a first author, and includes a plurality of content portions, including a first content portion created by the first author, and a second content portion created by the first author, and where the first content portion is made available on the network in a first web page, and where the second content portion is made available on the network in a second web page;

enabling a second author to express an opinion about the first content portion created by the first author, where the second author's opinion is expressed in commentary created by the second author and included within a third web page that is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and where the second author's commentary is directed to the first content portion but is not directed to the second content portion, and is created by the second author after the first content portion is created by the first author so that the second author's commentary is not available to the first author when the first content portion is created by the first author;

enabling a third author to express an opinion about the second content portion created by the first author, where the third author's opinion is expressed in commentary created by the third author and included within a fourth web page that is widely available to client computers having access to the network, and where the third author's commentary is directed to the second content portion but is not directed to the first content portion, and is created by the third author after the second content portion is created by the first author so that the third author's commentary is not available to the first author when the second content portion is created by the first author;

after enabling the second author to express an opinion about the first content portion created by the first author, receiving a request for the first web page from a client computer operated by a user;

responding to the request for the first web page by transferring the first web page over the network to the client computer that requested the first web page, and including within the transferred first web page the first content portion created by the first author and a representation of the third web page, and

where the representation of the third web page is automatically included within the transferred first web page without receiving a specific request for the third web page from the client computer that requested the first web page;

enabling the display of the first web page in a web browser window associated with a web browser application executing at the client computer that requested the first web page, where included within the displayed first web page are the first content portion and the representation of the third web page, and

where the representation of the third web page comprises a selectable hyperlink to the third web page that is positioned below the first content portion within the first web page to thereby enable convenient access, from within the first web page, to the second author's commentary directed to the first content portion;

receiving a request for the third web page from the client computer that requested the first web page, where the request for the third web page is initiated by the user's selection, from within the first web page displayed in the web browser window, of the selectable hyperlink to the third web page;

responding to the request for the third web page by transferring the third web page over the network to the client computer, and including within the transferred third web page the second author's commentary directed to the first content portion created by the first author;

enabling the display of the third web page by the web browser application executing at the client computer, where displayed within the third web page is the second author's commentary directed to the first content portion created by the first author;

after enabling the third author to express an opinion about the second content portion created by the first author, receiving a request for the second web page from a client computer operated by a user;

responding to the request for the second web page by transferring the second web page over the network to the client computer that requested the second web page, and including within the transferred second web page the second content portion created by the first author and a representation of the fourth web page, and

where the representation of the fourth web page is automatically included within the transferred second web page without receiving a specific request for the fourth web page from the client computer that requested the second web page;

enabling the display of the second web page in a web browser window associated with a web browser application executing at the client computer that requested the second web page, where included within the displayed second web page are the second content portion and the representation of the fourth web page, and

where the representation of the fourth web page comprises a selectable hyperlink to the fourth web page that is positioned below the second content portion within the second web page to thereby enable convenient access, from within the second web page, to the third author's commentary directed to the second content portion;

receiving a request for the fourth web page from the client computer that requested the second web page, where the request for the fourth web page is initiated by the user's selection, from within the second web page, of the selectable hyperlink to the fourth web page;

responding to the request for the fourth web page by transferring the fourth web page over the network to the client computer that requested the fourth web page, and including within the transferred fourth web page the third author's commentary directed to the second content portion created by the first author; and

enabling the display of the fourth web page by the web browser application executing at the client computer that requested the fourth web page, where displayed within the fourth web page is the third author's commentary directed to the second content portion created by the first author.

25. The system ofclaim 24, where the first author content further includes a third content portion that is made available in the second web page, where a fourth author expresses an opinion about the third content portion in commentary created by the fourth author and included within a fifth web page, and where the operation of enabling the display of the second web page includes enabling the display of a representation of the fifth web page below the third content portion.

26. The system ofclaim 24, where the operation of enabling the display of the third web page includes automatically scrolling to the position in the third web page where the second author's commentary occurs.

27. The system ofclaim 24, where the representation of the third web page is labeled to indicate the number of instances of commentary the representation corresponds to.

28. The system ofclaim 24, where third web page further includes commentary by more than one author.

29. The system ofclaim 24, where the commentary created by the second author is included in a judicial opinion, and where the commentary created by the third author is included in a judicial opinion.

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